


Conversations on Love and War

by smexy4smarties



Category: Twilight Series - Stephenie Meyer
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-06-10
Updated: 2012-07-07
Packaged: 2017-11-07 10:58:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 4,037
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/430317
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smexy4smarties/pseuds/smexy4smarties
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>All's fair in love and war, so how far would you go to secure your victory in either? Is there such a thing as too far? </p><p>Drabble-esque, short chapters. Saga-AU.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Stupid Rules

**Author's Note:**

> New girls who hate attention, brooding boyfriends, shopaholic best friends, underage hunks without shirts and other characterizations typical of the _Twilight_ series belong to Stephenie Meyer. The rest is mine, and I like to pretend that people respect that. Humor me.
> 
> This is mostly just an exercise to try and rediscover my writing groove. These will be short, sometimes beta'd and sometimes not, and I make no promises that by the end there will be any coherent plot or point.
> 
> But there could be. You never know.

_Love and warre are all one. . . . It is lawfull to use sleights and stratagems to . . . attaine the wished end._  [1620 T. Shelton tr. Cervantes' Don Quixote ii. xxi.]

. . . . .

"You can't do that."

"Why not?"

"Because you can only use one card."

"That doesn't make any sense."

"What do you mean 'that doesn't make any sense?' That's how the game is played."

"Yeah, but you said it's called 'War,' right? Well, if I was going into battle against someone much stronger than me, I wouldn't just send one little puny guy to defend my kingdom. So I'm using three cards. If you add them all up, they beat your nine."

Edward's dad owed him big time. He'd promised to entertain this girl while their fathers talked, to be nice to her, but  _jeez_. She didn't even understand the rules to  _War_ , a card game only half a notch above  _Go Fish_  on the complexity scale.

"Bella, that's cheating. The rules say we only flip one card each."

"But my rules make more sense in the real world."

"But this is a game."

"Ugh, fine!" Bella snatched two of her cards up and shoved them back into her deck at random. If Edward had dared to tell her she had to put them back on top, he'd have had his head bitten off. He knew that. He kept his mouth shut.

"Ha!" she exclaimed as the pair each flipped their next card. "I win."

"Uh, no, you don't."

"What?"

"I have an ace. You have a ten. I win."

"Aces are only worth one!"

"In some games. In this one, aces are high cards," he explained, summoning all of his patience.

"That's ridiculous. What is the point of changing the value of the cards from game to game?"

"It's just how it is."

"Well, let's change it."

"We're not going to change it. This game's been played this way for like a million years."

She raised a skeptical eyebrow.

"Okay, so not a million. But my grandfather said  _his_  grandfather played it with him, so it's been around for a really long time."

"Well, in  _a million years_ , things change. You may have noticed that us humans no longer live in caves or think it's acceptable to carry clubs around."

"You're just upset because you're losing."

"I'm upset because there's no way for me to be  _winning_. This game is completely based on luck!"

"Most card games are."

"Well, that's stupid."

"So are you forfeiting?"

"No!" She flipped another card to reveal an ace of her own. "There! According to all of your silly rules, I win this round," she gloated as she swept the cards up and placed them on the bottom of her pile.

Edward didn't have the heart to tell her that, in this version of the game, his two actually did beat her ace. It was a stupid rule anyway.


	2. Cojones

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New girls who hate attention, brooding boyfriends, shopaholic best friends, underage hunks without shirts and other characterizations typical of the _Twilight_ series belong to Stephenie Meyer. The rest is mine, and I like to pretend that people respect that. Humor me.
> 
> Yeah, one day later, here I am. Make no mistake, this won't last. And let's be clear: I don't work on weekends, I don't post on weekends, I don't think on weekends.

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Hmm, okay."

"It's a hypothetical question."

"All right."

"More of a scenario, really."

"Edward."

"Okay, so there's this guy, and he likes this girl."

"Are you serious right now?"

"What? What'd I do?"

"Shall we call the guy 'Bob' and the girl 'Betty?'"

"Why am I even trying to talk to you about this?"

"You're right. If the girl's a 'Betty,' then the guy's got to be 'Archie.'" Bella had never told him, but, well, she'd always sort of likened Edward to her favorite comic book character. His hair was more coppery than outright red, but he had that boy-next-door quality about him.

Plus, she could definitely be his Betty.

" _Bella._ "

"Yes, Archie?"

"I never said the guy was me."

"Oh, come on now. Really?"

"Really, really."

"Fine. If the guy isn't you, then tell me who this girl he likes is."

"I swore I wouldn't."

"Oh, you know I'm not going to tell anybody. And it'll help me give you better advice to give your friend."

"I can't tell you."

"Why?"

"Fine. Because the guy is me."

"There we go. All right, Archie, continue."

Good God, he hated her sometimes.

"So I like this girl, and I'm not sure how to tell her."

"Use your words."

He had to tell her. "Good  _God_ , I hate you sometimes."

"Yeah, yeah. So why can't you just tell her?"

"Um, because that's more terrifying than the prospect of telling my parents it was Em and me who tee-pee'd Mr. Callahan's car last year."

"That was  _you_?"

"His final exam had two essay questions! It was insane."

"You two are morons."

"Focus, Bella."

"Fine. Do you think you could find the cojones to ask her to Alice's Christmas party?"

"That would be just like telling her!"

"We'll ignore the part about that kind of being  _the point_  and just move on to: no, it wouldn't. Alice is making everyone pair up this year, so she might just think you need a date."

"I don't think I could."

Oh,  _jeez_ , he was taking a really long time to get on with this.

"Edward?"

"Yes?"

"Will you go to Alice's Christmas party with me?"


	3. Pumpkin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New girls who hate attention, brooding boyfriends, shopaholic best friends, underage hunks without shirts and other characterizations typical of the _Twilight_ series belong to Stephenie Meyer. The rest is mine, and I like to pretend that people respect that. Humor me.
> 
> Thank you to Nathalie for reading this over and giving me the "Eh, I guess that's good enough to post" nod. Your enthusiasm keeps me going, chicka.

"Honestly, it's not that big a deal."

"It's a very big deal."

"No, it's not."

"It's a  _very big deal_ , Edward."

Edward Cullen may have not been very good at math—hence why he'd been attempting to peek at a few of the answers on Bella's homework sheet and now found himself in this precarious situation—but he was still a smart guy. So when his girlfriend actually  _stomped her foot_  and folded her arms across her chest, he knew he was in trouble.

And he knew that he'd god damned better not laugh at the fact that she looked about four years old in all her pouting glory.

"Babe . . ."

"Don't do that."

"What?"

"Try to distract me with your sweet talk. I'm actually angry."

Edward could see that she was angry, that she was tapping her foot and flexing her fingers and just vibrating with the fury, but he could also see that she was giving him an out.

And Edward was a smart guy.

"Babe."

"I said  _don't_ , Edward."

"Sweetheart."

"You're pushing it."

"Honey. Darling. Cupcake."

" _Cupcake?_ " Bella couldn't help it: she laughed, even though she really didn't want to. She wanted to yell at this insufferable boy for screwing with her. He made her blood beat and her heart boil and,  _oh god_ , he was twisting up her insides and her words.

And right now she really wanted to kiss him, which just annoyed her all the more.

"What? You don't like 'cupcake'? How about muffin? Wait. I've got it:  _pumpkin._ "

"You'd better be kidding me."

"You know how much I've always loved Halloween."

"All I know is that I've got a seventy-one-year-old grandmother and I cringe a little bit when  _she_  calls me 'pumpkin.' I don't think there's much hope for the future of our relationship if you start using it."

"Bella Swan." Edward clutched an over-dramatic hand to his chest. "You would break up with me over something so small?"

"Immediately. And that's by no means something 'small.'"

"I'm hurt."

"You're a moron," she retorted, but the words didn't seem to sting as much when she was crawling over to the corner of the couch he was sprawled out on and snuggling into his chest.

"Mmm," Edward hummed, "you fit there perfectly."

"Don't go thinking you're off the hook, buddy."

But with Bella still in his arms, the argument he knew was still coming just didn't seem like that big a deal.


	4. Hardly Bleeding

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New girls who hate attention, brooding boyfriends, shopaholic best friends, underage hunks without shirts and other characterizations typical of the _Twilight_ series belong to Stephenie Meyer. The rest is mine, and I like to pretend that people respect that. Humor me.
> 
> This is long for this story. Don't go getting spoiled.

"I'm waiting for an explanation, Isabella."

"Oh, Charlie, you're being over-the-top about this whole thing."

"Over-the top? Are you kidding? She got into a fight, Renée."

"A scuffle." Renée merely waved Charlie's concerns off.

"The other girl was bleeding!"

"Hardly bleeding."

"How can you  _hardly_  bleed? And that's beside the point. I won't tolerate this kind of behavior from my own daughter. I'm the chief of police, for Christ's sake." His fist came down on the table for emphasis, but neither Bella nor her mother flinched. Charlie's gesture was empty, and, well, somewhat funny to Bella. Here he was lecturing her on violence, and he chose to underline his point using just that.

"You think this is a joke, young lady?"

"No, sir."

"Because you're in serious trouble."

"Yes, sir."

"Cut the 'sir' crap. Now I want to know what the hell you were thinking when you decided to take a swing at Jessica Stanley."

"Well—"

"This is ridiculous. If Bella were a boy, there's not a chance we'd be going into so much depth."

"Oh, Jesus. Here we go," Charlie groaned, slumping his head into his hands.

"I'm serious! You'd write it off as just boys being boys. But because she's a girl, you expect her to come up with some deeper, 'legitimate' reason for expressing her aggression."

"That's not true. I'd want to know why my child felt like making a laughing stock of me regardless of if they were my son or daughter. She has to explain herself because she  _hit someone_ , not because she's a girl."

"So you don't even want to know as a parent but just because you're embarrassed as a cop?"

"Don't twist my words."

"Fine, we'll pretend you didn't just say that." Renée tucked her head into her shoulder and added in a clearly audible murmur, "Even though you did."

"Mature, Renée."

"This discussion is over."

"Like hell it is!" Charlie's fist hit the table again, and while once again neither of the females acknowledged it, Renée didn't seem to even register it.

"Bella, honey, you know that you shouldn't sink to the level of physical violence, don't you?"

"Yeah, I—"

"Because women have enough flaws projected onto them by men. And while I applaud you for venturing into territory normally dominated by our male counterparts, I'd urge you to choose a more positive endeavor next time."

"Oh,  _Christ_ , Renée."

"Okay."

"You know I have to ground you, right?"

"I kind of figured, yeah."

"Well, your reasons are your own, and you don't have to explain them to anyone, but next time try to express them in a better way, okay?"

"Sure, Mom."

"Now I'd like you to go to your room."

Bella was used to the words that nipped at her heels as she climbed the stairs. She wasn't surprised to hear Charlie say "fucking feminism" after every three words or to make out Renée crying about how she knew he wished she'd given him a son.

This second part intrigued Bella; she'd never felt as if her father was disappointed to have a daughter, and, even now that her mother brought it up regularly, she didn't really see it. Sure, he was a kind of gruff man, and his voice tended to grizzle when he tried to express too much emotion, but Bella was his little girl. And maybe she would never appreciate football, fishing and the other important things in life that began with the letter  _f_ like a boy would, but she was also pretty positive that his eyes wouldn't light up as much for a son that asked to go on a camping trip with him as they did when she asked.

So she sat on her bedspread and began to count black specks in her grey carpeting, because Bella knew her father and knew he'd be coming up to discuss the matter further. And Charlie knew Bella and knew that once Renée wasn't around to speak for her, she'd be more than willing to explain that she'd went after Jessica Stanley because that witch had kissed Edward . . .  _right in front of her_. Bella knew she shouldn't have done it, but she was confident Charlie would at least understand. Break-ups were hard to deal with sometimes.

But for whatever reason, Charlie didn't come to her room before Bella fell asleep.


	5. Hot Pink Laces

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New girls who hate attention, brooding boyfriends, shopaholic best friends, underage hunks without shirts and other characterizations typical of the _Twilight_ series belong to Stephenie Meyer. The rest is mine, and I like to pretend that people respect that. Humor me.
> 
> I wish I'd been this outrageous in high school. Sigh.

"Have you seen her?"

"I caught a glimpse in the washroom, but she ducked out on me."

"Oh, I have! Best moment of my life. I actually started laughing in the middle of the hallway."

"You didn't!"

"Do you know me?"

"Who are we talking about?"

The occupants of the cafeteria table took a collective breath and turned to Edward. There was darting of pupils and blinking of eyelids and slight gestures of hand as all of his friends silently argued over who had to tell him what was so funny.

As usual, Emmett lost. Or won. He wasn't quite sure which.

"Dude, have you seen Bella this morning?"

"Iz, Emmett," Rose broke in, all snorts, giggles, and unladylike merriment. "Her name is Iz now."

"Her name is what?"

"Uh, yeah. In English this morning, Bells told Mr. Berty that she wanted to be called 'Iz' and nothing else. Something about the name being as harsh and barren as her soul."

" _What?"_

"Right? But that's only the beginning. Wait 'til you see her. Y'know how she used to wear something blue like everyday?"

Edward frowned. He did know; it had started after he'd complimented a blouse of hers. He should have guessed that the habit would stop once they were no longer together.

"Done. No more. Now, everything's black. Oh, except for her belt. The skulls are silver I think."

". . . Skulls?"

"Actually, Emmett, I'm pretty sure the laces on those commando boots were hot pink."

"Bella . . . and hot pink.  _My_  Bella?"

"Uh, no. Michael Newton's Bella."

"Michael Newton's  _Iz_."

"Newton's  _what?_ "

"Did'ya think she decided to become the new emo queen just because? She's dating that gangly goth."

"Bella and . . . Newton?"

"Did you expect her to stay single and heartbroken forever, bro?"

"It's only been two weeks."

"Well, it's high school," Rose reasoned. "She's moving on. So should you." She stole a glance across the table at the petite girl seated to Edward's right. Alice had been attached to his hip as far back as everyone could remember, and yet the two insisted they were nothing more than friends—best friends. Maybe now, with Bella out of the picture, Edward would finally realize what was right in front of him. Rosalie adamantly hoped so.

Alice was only focused on trying to calm her friend down.

"Be reasonable, E. Do you really think Bella would do something like that to you?"

"I didn't, but it seems I was wrong."

She gave him a hard stare, one that was everything he knew his mother could conjure up and maybe just a little bit more, considering Alice wasn't even a parent. He did his best not to cower.

"Well, I  _know_  that she would never do something like that to  _us_."

Edward understood. Bella knew about Alice's crush on Newton, and dating him, and by proxy betraying Alice, wasn't something she would do.

But commando boots with hot pink laces weren't something Bella would do either.

"I need to talk to her."

Edward was out of his chair and on his way before Emmett thought to warn him.

"Hey, try to keep your cool when you see what she did to her hair, yeah?"


	6. Sugar, Sugar

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New girls who hate attention, brooding boyfriends, shopaholic best friends, underage hunks without shirts and other characterizations typical of the _Twilight_ series belong to Stephenie Meyer. The rest is mine, and I like to pretend that people respect that. Humor me.
> 
> Thanks to my lovely Daffy for the read-through and suggestions. Even if I used none of them, they made for some lovely outtakes.

"I don't know why I'm here."

"Because I asked you to be."

"That's not a reason anymore, Edward."

"We can't even be friends?"

She chewed the inside of her cheek, worrying over the answer. There were only two, but she was pretty sure only one of them would get her what she wanted in the end.

It was a clear choice.

"No, I'm sorry, we can't."

"C'mon, Bella, we've always been friends."

"Iz. Call me Iz. And no, we haven't. You hated me when we were in elementary school."

"What?"

"You avoided me."

"You were a pain in the ass."

"See?"

"You were also a girl. I avoided all girls in elementary school."

"Is this why I'm here? So you can tell me why I'm like all girls?"

_Be snappy_ , Alice had told her.  _Make him work for it_. Bella just wanted to give in and smile at him, just once, just to see if she could make his eyes sing and shimmer. If she still could, would all of this strategy really be necessary?

_Yes, yes, yes!_  screamed back-of-mind Alice.

So Bella didn't smile, and then Edward didn't smile anymore either.

"I need a favor."

"Is that right?"

"I've always come to you to work stuff like this out. Just help me this one last time before we stop being friends?"

This turn in the conversation was not in the plan. It hadn't been in any of the flow-charts Alice had drawn for her.

"Please?"

"All right."

"I've got a hypothetical scenario for you. About a guy and a girl."

"Shall we call them John and Jane?"

"I was thinking maybe we could revisit our old friends Archie and Betty."

"Oh . . ."

"You see, Archie did something stupid—"

"As usual."

"—He broke up with Betty because he was sure by staying together through high school they'd miss out on a whole bunch of experiences. He was convinced he knew what was best for them."

"How nice for him."

"But then he saw Betty with another guy—Reggie—and it just about ate his heart out."

"Uh-huh. Did he take into account what his kissing Veronica did to poor Betty?"

"He didn't kiss Veronica."

"I saw—"

"He had an Ethel-type glom onto him once, but he was told by some buddies that he wouldn't need to talk to the girl about staying away from him, that his Betty made it known whose property he was."

Bella blushed. "Betty's a wildcat when she has to be."

"True. Though Archie kind of got confused when shortly after that she went on a date with Reggie."

"Betty would never date Reggie; he's not her type. They're just friends."

"But everyone at school . . ."

"Rumors." Rumors that Alice and Bella had carefully cultivated with the cooperation of one Michael Newton. They weren't sure why the boy had agreed to be their puppet, but they hadn't questioned his motives, and Alice had found it too fun to create Bella's new look. She insisted that to sell it, Edward had to buy it. Buying it apparently meant a makeover for Bella. She wasn't so sure that Alice hadn't made this part of the plan up for her own amusement.

"So why the change of name? And hair? And  _everything_?"

"I don't remember that issue. When did Betty change her name?"

" _Bella_."

"You don't like it?"

"It's just very short . . . and black."

"I felt like a change."

"You look like you dipped your head in ink."

"Is this how you plan to woo me back? With insults?"

"Sorry. How would Archie apologize to Betty?"

"Um . . . stand under her window with his guitar and sing 'Sugar, Sugar?'"

"I can't sing."

"Try."

"Are you kidding?"

"If you love me, you'll try."

" _Sugar . . . Ah, honey, honey_  . . . oh, screw this, no."

"Close enough."


	7. Sunshine and Oranges

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New girls who hate attention, brooding boyfriends, shopaholic best friends, underage hunks without shirts and other characterizations typical of the _Twilight series_ belong to Stephenie Meyer. The rest is mine, and I like to pretend that people respect that. Humor me.
> 
> Renée intrigues me. Obviously.

"How's Florida?"

 

"Oh, sweetie, you would love it here. The entire state's made of sunshine and oranges and cute boys."

"Mom. I have Edward."

"You two have been together what? A month? One of these bronzed gods could sway you."

"We've been back together for a month. We were together before that for like nearly two years. I'd say it's fairly serious."

"You're young."

_So were you and Dad._

She almost said it. It was Bella's standard response whenever one of her parents saw fit to question her and Edward's dedication to one another.  _Look in the mirror, you two, and tell me young love can't last._

Now it was clear why the response had never seemed to quite satisfy either of them.

"I'm happy with him, Mom."

"So you'll be staying in Forks?"

"Well . . ."

"No judgements, no disappointment. We told you it was your choice to make, and both your father and I meant it. It's not surprising, honey. Your home is in Forks."

"Well, I've almost decided."

"Oh? Almost?"

"That's actually why I called."

"I'm listening."

"Dad and I get along great. We just get each other, y'know?"

Renée couldn't help but laugh at her daughter's understatement; sometimes it seemed like Bella and Charlie existed on an entirely different brain wavelength than the rest of the world.

"And he loves me . . ."

". . . Is that a question?"

"Not really. I'm sure of it."

Her mother seemed to struggle on the other end of the line for a response, but Bella didn't feel like adding more to her end of the conversation. She didn't know what else to say.

Eventually, as always, Renée broke. "Bella, just tell me. You know how these drawn-out conversations frazzle my nerves. I swear, I can feel my hair getting split ends."

"When you and Dad were fighting—"

"Oh, hun, don't pay any mind to the things your father and I said during those fights. We were just—"

"—angry. I know. But what about when you were talking about me? What about when you said he wanted a son? You said that."

"Yes, I did."

"You cried about it."

"I cried, but I wouldn't say it was about that."

"Then what?"

"I just don't think you'll understand. Even if you could, I'm not sure I could explain properly."

"Try."

"Sometimes a person just needs a reason to be angry, to be hurt and suffering, and that was mine. It actually had nothing to do with your dad's feelings about you."

"You wanted to suffer?"

"Sort of."

Bella thought of Edward and how he'd felt there was something wrong with their relationship, felt they were too perfect. Wasn't that what her mother was saying? He'd gone looking for trouble.

"I think I understand."

Renée smiled, touched by her daughter's attempts to empathize, but though Bella had always been mature for her age, she was so out of her realm here. The rational, basically-adult mind her daughter had sported since birth was a baby when it came to this.

Because a two-week breakup was nothing when it came to heartbreak.

"Maybe you do. And Bella?"

"Yeah?"

"Let me know when that horrible dye's all grown out of your hair. We'll fly you down here so the sun can bleach it."


	8. Are You There, God?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New girls who hate attention, brooding boyfriends, shopaholic best friends, underage hunks without shirts and other characterizations typical of the _Twilight_ series belong to Stephenie Meyer. The rest is mine, and I like to pretend that people respect that. Humor me.
> 
> This chapter kind of came out of nowhere, but it's my love child.

"I can't even remember the last time we talked— _really talked_. It's been so long I honestly feel a little silly, speaking to no one like this.

"Uh, not to imply that You're no one. That's not what I was saying at all. Shi— _shoot_. Um, sorry.

"So anyway. You know the dilemma with Bella? It's not getting any better. I could really use a little bit of help here."

As usual, Edward's ceiling didn't remember what was going on with his girlfriend. So he explained.

"She's not pushing, but I can tell, You know? She wants more from me, and I kind of want to give in . . ."

He looked at the ring. It had felt heavy in a good way when he was thirteen, like an anchor keeping him from being cast out to sea.

Now it was just dragging him down.

"Okay, I really want to give in. And not just give in. I want to initiate and take and . . .

"I didn't realize when I put it on exactly what You were asking of me; it was something small then, an inkling. Now it's this monster taking over every thought, every second, and I can't find the willpower to not want it, let alone  _control_  it."

Edward had tried; he couldn't master all of his feelings. He told himself that behaving himself around Bella was a feat in itself, and so he didn't even try anymore to halt the rush of images that flooded his brain when he was in the shower.

Yeah, in the shower.

He had a lot to repent for.

"I want her to be pure, too. She's perfect and she deserves that, and  _man_ , what her father would do to me if he knew I was even considering fucking up her virtue.

"Um, I mean screw—uh, messing with. Sorry.

"Mom would die, too. I promised her, swore to her, this meant something."

The silver band did mean something to him—it was every bit of honor Edward's parents had raised him with.

"The thing is, if I have to choose what I keep and what I lose, I'll keep Bella."


End file.
